'Snakes, monkeys and desert storms' - all in a day's work for Prince Dastan and Jake Gyllenhaal

If someone had told me yesterday that Prince of Persia was being filmed in a ski resort I would have rolled my eyes. But no, it is true. According to, rather appropriately, Icelandic sources, filming is taking place at 3,000 feet in Morocco's popular ski resort of Oukaimeden in the High Atlas Mountains.


From this article, which follows Icelandic actor Gísli Örn Gardarsson's involvement in Prince of Persia we also get confirmation that filming began yesterday. And there is more: '"It is much more exotic than I expected. I thought the city would be more Western,” Gardarsson said. “It is like from 1001 Nights; snakes, monkeys and desert storms.” Gardarsson will be involved in filming until November and the final shots are scheduled for December 12.'


That is some shoot and we needn't fear that this will be Prince of Persia on ice and that Jake Gyllenhaal will have to cover up and wear ski goggles, because, it is currently in the high 30s centigrade in Oukaimeden. Also, one is usually safe enough, snow-wise, in Pinewood.


The fabulous news that Prince of Persia is all 'snakes, monkeys and desert storms' - the stuff of Arabian Nights and just what I was hoping for - comes hot on the heels of yesterday's info that Jake will indeed be authentic - well, an authentic videogame Prince and not an authentic 6th-century Persian Prince - and will have an English accent. And, judging by the game's Prince - who sounds more posh than one of the Queen's cousins - Jake's going to be learning the lingo with a silver spoon in his mouth.


The English accent is not a particularly easy one to master but Jake is in the capable hands of Barbara Berkery who previously instructed Gwyneth Paltrow and Renee Zellweger: 'Berkery has also coached Brad Pitt (Seven Years in Tibet), Jim Carrey (A Christmas Carol, due out next year) and Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean), and is currently working with Jake Gyllenhaal on his English accent for Prince of Persia. In other words, or for words in another accent anyway, London-based Berkery has become the English dialect coach Hollywood turns to. "It's a nice position to be in," she says.' I'd agree with that, and if she needs an assistant - I can do posh.


However, I would argue that while Gwyneth Paltrow's English accent is almost perfect, sometimes it takes something more than being able to pronounce one's vowels - I always believe Johnny Depp is a cockney even though he obviously isn't.


Jake is good at accents by all accounts (ask Anne Hathaway) and has been known to mimic British director Sam Mendes, as Jake demonstrated in this interview: 'Sam would actually use it as an excuse whenever he was punishing other actors. *puts on fake British accent* "JAMIE FOXX! EVERY DAY! HE COMES HERE EVERY DAY AND HE'S AN ACADEMY AWARD WINNING ACTOR! HE'S ALWAYS ON HIS BEST BEHAVIOUR!"' Apparently, according to this, the English must shout a lot on set. One thing's for sure, Jake, they do not sound like this:



Heath Ledger and Jake, especially Heath, received acclaim for their southern accents on Brokeback Mountain, accents that also had to adapt through the course of Ennis and Jack's lives. But Jake had to resist the urge to do comic, as Joy Ellison the voice coach (on Brokeback and I'm Not There) revealed: 'To work with Gyllenhaal, Ellison sat down with the script and went line by line to break down the major sounds. From there, she’d go back through the script and find those sounds in his dialogue and make lists. “Jake might have a line like, ‘I’m trying to buy the fried eggs.’ So I’d go back and go ‘I try fry,’ take all those words out so he starts to recognize that sound in all its forms.”Not overdoing the accent is vital to making the voice authentic — Ellison calls it 75 percent of the challenge. “Jake was funny because at the end of the movie he said to me, ‘I know, I know, pull it back.’ “Because,” she shifts to a twangy Texas accent, “he always wanted to go real strong, y’know, TEXAS.”'

I wonder what kind of English a videogame 6th-century Persian Prince would use?


And so back to Prince of Persia - Sir Ben Kingsley admitted today that life is good (as anyone's would be when they're about to spend time exchanging scimitar blows with Jake Gyllenhaal while bounding from minaret to minaret): "I have opening Eulogy, I have opening The Wackness, I have opening Transsiberian, I have opening Fifty Dead Men Walking. I have just finished a Martin Scorsese film called Shutter Island and I'm about to film next week - I start on the Prince Of Persia in Morocco and Pinewood - so life is beautiful," he said.'


And because things always happen at once, information on the filmscore has also been announced: 'Harry Gregson-Williams has been signed to score Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time for Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. The big budget action adventure, which is based on the popular video game, is directed by Mike Newell and stars Jake Gyllenhall [sic], Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley. Supposed to premiere next summer, Prince of Persia tells the story of an adventurous prince and a princess who team up to stop an evil ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy earth. Signing on to score Prince of Persia, Gregson-Williams also withdraw from scoring duties on G-Force, the other big Disney/Bruckheimer 2009 action flick, where Trevor Rabin (National Treasure) takes over the responsibility for the film's original score. Harry Gregson-Williams other upcoming films include The Taking of Pelham 123 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.'


Next thing - I want to see costumes! I want to see monkeys! I want to see snakes! And sand, lots of sand. With Jake.

Includes pictures from IHJ and Sam's Path Petting Zoo.